Best London state secondary school in your opinion?

[Simplegal]

I’m overwhelmed with school choices for a Year 10 entry for my DD into an Co-Ed state secondary school. We have a last minute, frantic move to London from abroad and looking for entry for my DD. Somewhere within 30-60 mins travel to Canary Wharf? Open to faith schools as she has been in a traditional catholic school previously. We haven’t even started the accommodation hunt just focusing on schools first! Please comment if you love your school! Thank you!

I assume you mean one or both of you is working in Canary Wharf?

If you lmove to Barnet there are quite a lot of good schools like Archer (where are kids go, it's excellent) and the Compton school, the local Catholic schools are single sex though. Catchments are small so you'd need to live near. You can reach CW within an hour from local tube.

*our kids 😯

Thank you! Yes, hubby will be commuting to Canary Wharf so trying to find an easy commute for him too. I will have a look at Barnet!

Cardinal Wiseman Catholic school in Ealing has a great reputation. St Benedicts as well if you are looking at private.

What faith are you?

Sorry if this is an obvious question but have you found out which schools have spaces?

Cardinal Wiseman was a school that came up as an option while googling! Thank you! I think private is not an option at the moment.

You're going to get the school that has spaces...you don't really have a choice.

That will be my next step once I have a few options. I’m sure places will be limited and need accommodation within catchment areas.

You could try moving v close to Graveney in Tooting.

Not sure what school you'd be offered if you moved there but Graveney was too full to accommodate an more at all

Easy tube commute (one change)

DD is catholic.

I’m sure that will be the case. I need to narrow down which suburbs first.

Thank you I will look into that suggestion.

I have friends whose DC went to Trinity school (Catholic) in Redbridge and they were happy with it. It's been a couple of years since the left though. Woodford is a pretty easy journey to Canary Wharf.

Graveney has an academic stream by test entry

Thank you! Will put that one on my contact list!

Look at Swanlea School in Whitechapel. It's outstanding and ranked as the 2nd best secondary in Tower Hamlets.

https://snobe.co.uk/schools/swanlea-school/rankings#:~:text=School%20ranks%20nearly%2020%2C000%2B%20schools,ranking%20%232%20in%20Tower%20Hamlets.

Whitechapel is 1 stop on the Elizabeth line to Canary Wharf (or a 10 min drive).

there’s St ursula’s in Greenwich.

Coloma in Croydon also has an excellent reputation.

however it is going to depend on whether there is a place. The “best” schools are oversubscribed obviously.

st Ursula’s last time I looked was so oversubscribed it came down to how catholic you were. If you weren’t baptised within 6 months of birth, had done your FHC at the correct time, and had a letter of recommendation from your parish priest confirming weekly attendance at mass you had no chance.

Thank you so much! Will look into this school!

Your problem at this point in the year may be simply getting hold of the relevant people. The majority of secondaries will be their own admissions authorities, and as such may or may not organise their own in year admissions. Graveney outsource to Wandsworth, for example, but cardinal wiseman do their own. For those that do their own, there may not be anyone at work at the moment in the holidays so you may not be able to find out whether they have spaces.

Once you have an address, the LA will have an obligation to find you a space somewhere.

Woodford is leafy and feels “safe” for teenagers to be out and about after dark. Living in Whitechapel, not so much.

You need to consider not just the school, but the neighbourhood for your family.

Thank you for these options! She was baptised at one month old and has done her FHC including Sunday school for six months prior!

Coloma apparently hard to get into. It’s more Purley than Croydon too. Best friend went there years ago.

Kingsdale in West Norwood/Dulwich is good if they’re musical.

I’m realising the timing is terrible
to try and rush this through. I have tried calling and emailing a few schools but no answer/reply. When do office staff usually head back into schools?